Airplane control



A. W. SHIRL.

AIRPLANE CONTROL.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24. I921,

Patented June 13, 1922.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

A. W. SHIRL- AIRPLANE CONTROL.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24. 1921.

1A1 9,431.6; Patented June 13,1922.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

ATTORNEY A. w. SHIRL.

AIRPLANE CONTROL.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24, I927.

11A 31 9A 1. 6D atented une 13, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY earner castes.

. QETEUR smart, 0F MILWAUKEE, WllEiCQNlIN.

. AIRPLANE CQNTROL.

naiaaae.

s emataeoi of Letters Patent. pm m m Jung 13, 1922,

a lication filed. October 24, 1921. Serial no. aoaaoa.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR W. SHIRL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wimonsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Airplane Controls, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in airplanes, an object of the invention being to provide means whereby the fusela e will remain horizontal in rising and ahghting so as to permit the ship to leave the ground after a short start and to facilitate landing.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the shi will readily respond to the movements of the controls so that the ship can be maneuvered in the minimum' amount of space and time.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts,

to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing my invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a ship constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2'is an elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view.

Figure 4 is a section on line 4-4 looking in the direction of the arrow.

Figure 5 is a similar section looking in the opposite direction, with parts broken away.

Figures 6 and 7 are detail views.

In these views the planes 1 and 2 are rockingly connected with the fuselage by means of the stationary shaft 3 to which the planes are pivotally connected. This shaft is rigidly supported by means of the braces 4 and the body. A. pair of shafts 5 and 6 are rotatab'ly supported in the body and in the braces 47', said shafts having cranks 7 thereon which are slidingly connected with the planes or wings by means of the clips 8 engaging the guides 9, secured to the rear edges of the planes. Thus as the shafts 5 and 6 are rocked, by means hereinafter described, the planes will be turned about the shaft 3 so that they can be moved to a position parallel with the longitudinal plane of the body' or at an angle to such plane. The

inner ends of the shafts 5 and 6 are rotatably connected together in any suitable manner so that one shaft can be rotated independentl of the other.

T 1e means for rotating the shafts 5 and 6 comprises a vertically arranged shaft 10, suitably journaled in the fuselage and adapted to be rotated by the feet of the pilot through means of the foot pedal 11, the 'seg ments 12 connected with said pedal and the cables 13 and chain 14 which connect the members 12 with the pinion 15 on said shaft 10. Thus the pilot or operator can turn the ghaft 10 in either direction by means of his eet.

Worm gears 16 nd 17 are carried by shaft 10, the worm 16 meshing with the worm gear 18 loosely mounted at the junction of the shafts 5 and 6 and the worm 17 meshing with the gears 19 on the horizontal shafts 20 to which the pinions 21 are secured. said pinions meshing with the large gear 22 which is slidably mounted on shaft 23. This gear 22 is formed integral or is suitably connected with the bevel gear 24 which engages the bevel gears 25 and 26 on the shafts 5 and 6 when the gears 22 and 24 are moved forwardly by the hand lever 27 which is connected with the grooved collar on the gear 22 by means of the forked rod 28. By moving said hand lever in an opposite direction the gear 24 will move out of mesh with the gears 25 and 26 though the gear 22 will remain in mesh with the pinions 21 due to the fact that said pinions are of great width.

The gear 18 is provided with clutch teeth 29 at each side thereof which are adapted to be engaged by the teeth on the clutch parts 30 which are slidably mounted on the shafts 5 and 6 so that both or either shafts 5 and. 6 can be connected with the gear 18. to be rotated thereby. whenever desired. These clutch parts are shifted by means of the rods 31 having their upper ends forked and engaging the clutch parts and having their lower ends provided with arms 32 which are pivotally connected to the forked end of a rod 33 which has its other end passing through a bracket 34 on rod 28, a spring 35 being arranged between the bracket 34 and the enlarged end of said rod 33. These parts are so arranged that when the hand lever 27 is moved rearwardly the gear 24 will be moved out of mesh with the gears 25 and 26 and the clutch parts 30 moved into engagement with the teeth on'the gear 18 so that ated. By moving .the pedal in one direction or the other the planes can in either direction.

I also provide a pair of stabilizers 36 and 37 at the tail end of the ship which are pivotally supported by the shaft 38. These be made to move stabilizers are connected by the cables 39- with the pulleys 40 on the shafts 5 and 6 so that when said shafts 5 and 6 are rotated the stabilizers will be rocked upon their pivots. Thus the stabilizers will move in unison with the planes 1 and 2. I also grovide a large elevator 41 which is contro led by the lever-42 which is connected thereto by the cables 43, and the rudder 44, also controlled by a suitable lever in the cock pit.

From the above it will be seen that the planes at the front of the machine and the stabilizers at the rear can be moved simultaneously in the same direction or one pair of planes andstabilizers can be moved in one.

direction while the other pair is being moved in the opposite direction.

These movements of the various parts will permit the airplane to leave the ground after traveling a short distance as well as facilitating landing. The ship can also be maneuvered very quickly and it can make sharp turns and in both ascending and descending the fuselage may remain in horizontal position. By placing the parts in the neutral position the ship can be controlled in the ordinary manner by the rud der and elevator.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of my invention will be readily apparent.

I desire it to be understood that I may make changes in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. In an airship, a plane at each side thereof supported to have movement about a horizontal axis, manually operated means for imparting movement to the planes, manually operated means for causing such action to either move the planes simultaneously in the same direction or in reverse directions, a stabilizer at each side of the sh p and means for connecting the same with a plane so that the stabilizer will move with the plane.

2. In an airship, a plane at each side thereof supported for movement about a horizontal axis, a shaft connected with each plane for moving the same, a gear, a pair of clutch means for connecting the same with the shafts. a gear on each shaft, a sliding gear adapted to engage therewith, means for moving the clutch means into en-, gagement with the first mentioned gear and the sliding gear out of engagement'with the gears 0n the shafts and vice versa, a drive shaft and gears connectin the same with the clutch gear and the slidlng gear.

3. In an airship, a plane at each side.

thereof supported for movement about a horizontal axis, a shaft connected with each plane for moving the same, a gear, a pair of clutch means for connecting the same with the shafts, a gear on each shaft, a sliding gear adapted to engage therewith, means for moving the clutch means into engagement with the first mentioned gear and the sliding gear out of engagement with the gears on the shafts and vice versa, a drive shaft, gears connecting the same with the clutch gear and the sliding gear and foot actuated means for rotating the drive shaft. i

4. In an airship, a plane ateach side thereof supported for movement about a horizontal axis, a shaft connected with each plane for moving the same, a gear, a pair of clutch means for connecting the same with the shafts, a gear on each shaft, a sliding gear adapted to engage therewith, means for moving the clutch means into engagement with the first mentioned gear and the sliding gear out of engagement with the gears'on the shafts and vice versa, a drive shaft, gears connecting the same with the clutch gear and the sliding gear, foot actuated means for rotating the drive shaft, a stabilizer at each side of the ship adjacent the rear thereof, a pulley on each of the'plane actuating shafts and cables connecting the stabilizers with the pulleys so that the stabilizers .will be actuated simul- ARTHUR WM. SHIRL. 

